Artem

My arms were currently wrapped loosely around Star. The feeling of her pressed gently against my body made my heart sing. I felt like my world had just become nothing but the joy of cloud nine, that feeling was never going to leave me.

I didn't want to scare her, or push her too far, so I pulled back after about a minute. I was happy to have what I did for the time being and knowing that she didn't try to push me away, that was even better.

The look in her eyes when I pulled away from her was not fear, it was of course confused, but it was also happy. She had seemed to enjoy, and appreciate, the hug. This was the best progress so far.

It seemed that things around the house were going to get busy, and if only I could get my mate to accept me like the ones around me did, then we could all be living the best life possible. For now though, Star and I had to wait through more of those awkward introductions that I had seen yesterday morning.

Never, in my wildest dreams, did I think that my Beta, both my Gammas, and my three cousins would all find mates so close to each other. And aside from my Gammas, all the other halves of the matings came from my mate's family. Literally every mating was paired with someone from my family or hers. This literally made all of us family now in one way or another. What could be better than that?

This was turning out to be a good day, albeit a long one. The three new pairs were chatting it up while Star and I walked around the shop and inspected the dessert.

"Is there anything that looks good to you?" I asked her, wondering what I should get her.

This day actually had another purpose than what I had told her. Two really. I wanted to buy her a special treat just to spoil her, and I wanted to find a cake for her birthday. I wanted to get an idea of what she liked so I could order the cake that would suit her the best.

[I don't know] She seemed nervous.

"I will get you anything you want. If you want to try them all then I can do that, if you see something that interests you we can focus on that." The look in her eyes said just how hard this was on her. She hadn't been shopping like this before and she most definitely wasn't used to getting things she wanted, but I wanted to change that.

"Do you want me to pick for you?" I asked her to take some of the pressure off of her. The answer I received was a grateful smile and slight nod of her head. She was nervous, but happy nonetheless. I was happy to see her finally smiling so frequently.

I finally managed to pull my cousins away from the guys in the room long enough to get some desserts. I wanted to get cakes, pies, cookies, pastries, a little bit of everything. I had to admit the girls were good at their work so it would all be amazing. I also wanted to plan some sort of cake for my mate that would make her feel special and loved. I didn't think she had any parties since she had moved into her captor's home all those years ago.

After managing to separate everyone and getting them all back to work, I was able to get Criztie to help me with a design while Dakotah and Sydney gushed over Star. They were happy to meet the girl that had finally captured me and so had sat her in one of the white chairs so they could bring her a little bit of everything.

"You're too skinny." Sydney had said the first time she had seen her up close. We need to make sure you're eating from here everyday."

"Yup, that's right, we will help to get you up to a normal size soon." Dakotah added.

"Hey, don't have all the fun without me." Criztie scolded them. "I'm older than both of you so I am the boss around here."

"Fifteen minutes, big whoop." Sydney joked back.

"Yeah, and since you're the oldest, doesn't that mean you have to do all the most important stuff?" Dakotah added.

"I hate you two." Criztie joked. "I want to have fun with my new cousin too." The bickering and whining was normal with them, but I really wanted to get this done.

"Can we focus, Criz? Please."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I will make what you want. But you really should have given me more than three days notice." Her voice was hushed so that Star wouldn't hear her, and despite the words themselves, she looked and sounded excited. "Are we invited to that little soiree?" She looked excited, glancing over my shoulder at her new mate as she spoke.

"Yes, and he will be there too, don't worry."

"YAY!" She squealed the last part loud enough that everyone in the shop had heard her. "Oops." She clapped a hand over her mouth after her outburst. "My bad." She was laughing now. She was such a pain sometimes, good thing she was family and I loved her.

With the design settled and the dessert bought, it was time for us to head home. But I was really glad to see that Star wasn't acting as shy as she had been before this weekend. She was still using her notepad with the girls and me, but I knew it was only a matter of time before she talked to me. Maybe I would go see her again soon and we could talk things out. Maybe she would talk to me after that.

Hey, a man could hope couldn't he? I would do my best to be the best mate she could ever hope for. And one day, she will see that, wolf or no wolf. I wanted to make her fall in love with me regardless. Actually, that sounded even better, knowing the person fated to love you forever actually loved you for you before they could feel the mate bond. Perhaps that was what I was meant to do.

I was going to make that my new mission. I was going to make Star fall in love with me for me, for who I truly was. And then, when the talisman is removed and she feels the bond pulling us together, she wouldn't have to question the feelings that it makes her feel.